Help the Kidd Family rebuild their horse, cow barn

On January 12, our brand new almost-finished barn and all its contents (30 ton of hay, tractor and farm machinery) burnt to the ground. While very thankfully no animals or people were harmed, the barn is a total loss.

Here’s some history so you understand what we’re asking for: We started out purchasing this land from my grandparents. My grandparents purchased the land from my grandmother’s parents when they moved here from Utah. My great grandmother had a vision that this land would provide food for people in desperate times. They had been beet farmers in Utah. Although beet farming was not successful here in Oregon, they maintained hope that the land would be a place that could provide basic needs to our family, friends and community.

My grandparents experienced some life-changing health events which forced my grandpa into early retirement. He and my grandmother had cows and he repaired and sold tractors. They lived a modest but loving life. As my grandfather developed Lewy Body Dementia, my family began to accept more responsibility for managing the property. At his psychiatrist’s advice we tried to maintain life as he knew it - which meant bringing cows back to the property. We easily began to love the cows as he did. They are beef cows raised on grass hay and pasture. They are loved and respected in their life and honored in their death.

My husband and a few friends and family built us a horse barn many years ago. We’ve always loved horses so we found a way to open our home and land to a few rescue horses. We’ve had the honor of caring for and loving many horses in the past.

When we realized we needed to bring cows back to the property, we knew our horse barn was not going to meet the storage and other needs we would have. When Covid hit and we were all looking for direction, a friend inspired us to build the cow barn that we desperately needed. We figured that this would be the barn to last our lifetimes - and longer. We tried to be creative in how it was built so it could be transformed for other needs than cows. A small but mighty group of friends and family put up the frame, roof, loft, and began doors. My husband has spent all his free time working on finishing up the interior of the barn, and at the time of the fire, it was almost done - only finishing touches left.

It’s all gone now. Any help will be so greatly appreciated as we embark on rebuilding - which we must do. Thank you for taking the time to read all this; I look forward to posting pictures here of a new barn. Many blessings to you, Jami.